Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Making It Work

We are on the home stretch..... spending my last bit of money in the grocery store with a predetermined meal in mind I picked up ground beef, a small can of beans and peanut butter..... I made chili and it turned out great :-) (I didn't add the pb) seem like lots of flavor, I still have quite a bit of basics left, dried beans, rice, barley, flour, bok choy, corn (things I thought I'd run out of). I'm set for the week :-) I don't foresee a need to pick up anything else for the week which is good as my $80 is spent. I am baking my last loaves of bread and can't wait to try it out once it is cooled.

Last week and this week my energy levels have been quite low. I've felt, just exhausted. It has been tiring just thinking about food and cost so often and avoiding temptation. I have lost 3lbs which isn't a significant amount but I don't know if I can directly contribute it to the diet either. I walk to and from work which is about 5.5 km a day. I live downtown and did all my shopping downtown too. As some of you know groceries tend to be more expensive and there isn't much opportunity to buy in bulk which can be costly when on a budget. Sales and coupons are a must.

Why are there no coupons for necessities? Is it because there is subsidies from the government in most of the industries the products are from? Is $2.50 - 3.50 each a reasonable amount for bread, eggs and milk? And what about soy? it comes from a bean, the process (thanks to avid readers and bloggers) I've found out is to boil, de-shell (which is more or less done in the boiling process), strain and add a little sweetener...... does it really have to cost twice the amount of milk?

4 comments:

Soy milk should cost less than dairy milk. It costs very little to make your own. I have a soymilk maker, which makes it very cheap and quick, but you can make it with a blender and old pillowcase too. 50-75 g of soybeans for a litre of milk. At about $1/kg, I can get 13L/$1.

I imagine the amount of soybeans fed to the dairy cows could make a heck of a lot of soy milk instead!

Great challenge! Had an idea reading that you walk to work. Instead of walking, biking would mean needing less calories. Getting home faster/easier leaves more time and energy to cook, etc. And bikes are available free or at very low cost in most major cities. In Edmonton the edmonton bike commuter's workshop can set you up. The transportation also means you can travel further to pick up bargain food that might be out of range on foot.

The Working Poor Diet

For the entire month of February each of us will spend $80 a month on food and attempt to follow the Canada Food Guide.

The economic realityDespite being one of the wealthiest provinces in the country, Alberta`s minimum wage of $8.40 is the fourth lowest in the country and about 21% of working Albertans earn less than $12 per hour. The Working Poor Diet challenges Canadians to understand the difficulties low-income families face putting healthy food on the table each day.

Eating wellThe Canada Food Guide describes what amount of food people need and what type of food is part of a healthy eating pattern - Vegetables and Fruit, Grain Products, Milk and Alternatives, and Meat and Alternatives - plus a certain amount of added oils and fats.

Our goalThe key goal of the Working Poor Diet is to raise money for the Edmonton Food Bank. While the food bank receives many dry food donations, it needs money for operating costs such as rent, insurance and gas.

The rules1. No free food. This means participants can not eat sample food available at grocery stories or food offered by friends and family. All food consumed during the challenge must be paid for out of the $80 food allowance.2. Participants must follow the Canada Food Guide as closely as possible and eat a variety of meals.3. Participants are allowed to eat out, but they must deduct the cost of the meal from the $80 monthly food allowance.4. The costs of any beverages, including tea and coffee, must be deducted from the $80 monthly food allowance.5. Participants do not have to pay for salt, pepper, vinegar and dry spices - food items that have no nutritional value or ability to fill you up. Participants must pay for cooking oil and any condiments from the $80 monthly food allowance.6. The diet begins12:01 am, February 1 and runs through to February 28. 6:00 pm.